I Can Fundraise All By Myself

How Buckeyes are DIYing their way to raising funds for BuckeyeThon.

As a senior at Ohio State I can confidently say the biggest campus-wide event to shape my college experience into something truly exciting, memorable, and meaningful is participating in the BuckeyeThon Dance Marathon. Registration closes in the fall, but you have until the absolute last minute to raise that minimum $250 #ForTheKids required to get into the event. It’s a 12-hour dance marathon filled with activities like silent disco, gaga ball, tutu-making, dodgeball, and the ever-so memorable rave hour (*hnsk-hnsk-hnsk*). The whole point is that to get into the event, and during the event itself, students fundraise for terminally ill kids at Nationwide Children’s Hospital here in Columbus.

However, it might feel a little weird reaching out for donations via Facebook to your extended family you regularly avoid because of political posts and former P.E.teachers you friended out of pressure. So this year consider switching up your fundraising style, like these students have!

Natalie Perri |Paints portraits for commission.

What do you do for donations and how did the idea start?

I’m a realism artist and I’ve been obsessed with art as long as I can remember. I’ve been doing dance marathons since my freshman year in high school, so fundraising got boring; I felt bad asking the same people for money, so I knew I had to start being creative. I already do commissioned work so I was like, let’s just merge the two and do commissioned work for donations. I composed a Facebook video and asked my friends and family to share it so it would get heavily exposed; people would reach out to me and ask for previous works to see what talent level I’m at. Last year I raised over $1,000 just on art commissioned work.

Is it a successful means of fundraising to get to the $250 minimum (or more)?

It’s been very successful for me, I have a wide variety of price ranges so people can get canvas paintings for like $20 but some of the more expensive pieces are up to $250 and that’s the minimum right there. People tip me too, I’ll charge them $100 and they’ll give me like $150.

How would you recommend fundraisers to step up their game?
I would say if you’re passionate about anything and you can create a product that you thoroughly enjoy doing in your spare time anyways, one it’s not going to feel like work, and two it’s going toward a good cause. I love art. I do this anyway, why not merge the two and help out this amazing cause? You can still do extra fundraising.

Noor Alshafie | Sells homemade peppermint sugar scrubs.

How do you fundraise?

I originally came up with this idea when my boss gave me a ‘wellness package’ for Christmas and it included lotions, bath bombs, face masks, and other self-care items and I just loved it. It was perfect for me since I’m always stressed about school and I immediately felt that others would love it too. This sparked me to find a way to bring a little stress-relief to others, while also staying in the holiday spirit with the peppermint scent.

What are some quick, easy ways anyone can do to fundraise?

Sending emails to my family and friends, making individual phone calls or having face-to-face asks if possible. Posting on social media, Venmo-ing people small amounts, participating in football and neighborhood canning, writing personalized handwritten notes, and thinking of unique activities like the peppermint hand scrubs.

How successful has your project been?

I’ve raised over $75 since I began two weeks ago by selling 0.75 oz. scrubs for $1 and 2 oz. scrubs for $3. I would say that it’s been more successful than I originally anticipated, but to truly reach the $250 commitment, you need to think outside the box and do a variety of things to fundraise. College students react better to Venmo and scrubs since they can get something in return.

How would you recommend fundraisers to step up their game?

First, think about why you are #ForTheKids and that will drive you in everything you do. Once you truly know that, fundraising becomes much easier. After you have your why, think about the things you like. When scrolling through social media or thinking about times when you’ve donated or done community service, what catches your eye and makes you stop? If you can narrow down what appeals to you as well as what people might like or need (e.g. scrubs, tutus, food, etc.), then you are ready to go.

Rachel Graf | Plays the oboe and writes songs for donations.

How did your idea start?

Last year during BuckeyeThon recruitment (late November) I had my oboe with me at one of our registration booths because I had to get it fixed that day and the person I was with was like ‘If you get someone to register you should offer to play for them, I’LL SNAPCHAT IT!’ A couple months later I posted the video of me playing from back during registration week and I got some donations because of it.

What recommendations do you have for fundraisers looking to step up their game?

Get creative! Whatever talents or passions you have, they can be used in any way. Passions come from our childhood and that’s a great connection back to our cause for the kids. The best advice I ever got was, ‘No one will ever be upset with you for asking for money if you explain why you’re passionate about it.’ The oboe became the means I was using to show that passion. [BuckeyeThon] does support psychosocial services—music therapy—but in my mind it all connects.

Madi Task

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